


Make Me See

by skjinxin (timaeustestifiedsilence)



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Car Accidents, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Violence, kinda sorta
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-07
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 09:48:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22154056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timaeustestifiedsilence/pseuds/skjinxin
Summary: when the moon rises, it startsthe nights always repeat the sameyour voice is searching for mein this deep night, i'm ruined endlesslyi burn in this moment, can't ever wake from this dreamcall me.
Relationships: Son Hyunwoo | Shownu/Yoo Kihyun
Comments: 7
Kudos: 26





	1. I See You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [1117](https://archiveofourown.org/users/1117/gifts).



“. . . _record number sales this season continue to boost Bear Fitness CEO Son Hyunwoo’s reputation . . . foreign brands are now beginning to consider his company a threat to theirs given its popularity and rapid spread_ . . .”

Another day, another dollar, another anchor drooling over arguably one of the most beloved CEO’s in all of South Korea. Son Hyunwoo was the prime example of the kind of person a CEO should be; kind, composed, intelligent, and most importantly - honest. Treating employees properly at the forefront of his mind with corruption being a foreign concept? It couldn’t get any better.

The truth is, though, when it came to Hyunwoo, it always got better. In addition to his popularity with the media. . .well. . .the man was like a living greek god who’d bathed in ichor. Skin like fine caramel, muscles carved from marble. A goofy, innocent smile to throw you for a loop. His company, on the other hand, held a very strong image; Bear Fitness was a conglomerate of anything health related. Regular gyms for casuals to work out at? Check. Classes on healthy eating and living? Check. Countless certified trainers for weight training, sports, yoga, and literally anything along those lines? Ding ding ding! Factor in the clothing brand (that the CEO himself modeled for) and it’s everything a health-conscious person could ever dream of.

That being said. . . Kihyun was not the type of person to care - Not One Bit. In university, there are a few types of students: the academic student, the athletic student, and the apathetic student. If you don’t think you fit into any of those categories, you would be Wrong.

Take, for example, apathetic student 0126: Im Changkyun. Music major, street dancer, and a little bit of a fuckboy. It would be hard to tell if he cared or not just by looking at his face, but if you were to message him any time after midnight, you would be subjected to the inner workings of his overactive artistic mind (spicy Shakespeare, as he fondly calls it). Athletic student 1006: Lee Jooheon, the busy bee on campus. In a friend group, there must be at least one of each student subtype, and that is where Jooheon steps in. He’s Changkyun’s best friend, his other half, his soundcloud rapping and music major partner. He’s also a well known (and well feared) boxer, the best his university has ever seen.

Yoo Kihyun would _like_ to categorise himself as an academic student, but his two dear friends Chae Hyungwon (student 0115) and Lee Minhyuk (student 1103) know he’s the third piece to their apathetic puzzle. Both Hyungwon and Minhyuk model, leaving Kihyun to take their pictures for everything from Instagram to Snapchat to Tinder. They say that photos are worth 1,000 words, but Kihyun often wishes they were worth $1,000 too (he really needs to pay for his tuition and his rent).

* * *

“Will you _please_ turn that noise off?” Hyungwon grumbled, blinking the bleariness out of his eyes. Was it way past a reasonable hour to still be tired from last night? Yes, it was 1 pm. Was that going to stop him from being exhausted down to the bone marrow? Absolutely not. “I can _hear_ that news anchor drooling over CEO Son and I’m actually getting nauseous.”

If Minhyuk’s eyes could roll out of his head, they’d be on the food court floor and on their way out the door. “Listen, Wonnie, I’m pretty sure you spent 40 minutes last night gushing about his proportions and how his legs would look -”

“SHUT. UP.”

Kihyun couldn’t help but snicker at their bickering. At times, it seemed like their banter was the only thing that kept him sane through mundane assignments, finals, and 2 a.m. mental breakdowns. If anything, it was endearing to see how they interacted with and complimented each other. “I think you forgot to add the part where he talked about his arms and how good they would look wrapped around -”

Hyungwon groaned loudly before raising a fist in an attempt to intimidate Kihyun. “Oh my GOD let me _live_! As if you don’t feel the same way!” Ouch.

The trio went back to picking at their meals for a long moment, chewing and slurping in silence while attempting to ignore the cacophony of other students around them. The television droned on, switching topics to grumble about the economy. When the topic of weather came up with a rather cute looking meteorologist gesturing wildly, Kihyun lost interest in his tteokbokki. The forecast was for a massive rainstorm that was to completely drench Seoul before freezing through overnight. “Weird weather, wouldn’t you say?” Kihyun noted, eyebrow cocked as if the weather was the most interesting thing he’d heard all day.

“Yeah, yeah. Sounds like the roads will be trash tomorrow. Think classes will be cancelled?” Hyungwon seemed hopeful, suddenly intently focused on the weather. He knew his lanky legs would be no match for any level of ice, and he would rather bust his ass on something else.

Minhyuk and Kihyun both whipped their heads up to look at him. “They _better_ be!” they chorused. Hyungwon raised his arms in defense, caught off guard. And just like that, the weather segment was over. Students were finishing up lunch and shuffling off to continue suffering in different locations, leaving the food court barren.

After a few moments of plate scraping and poorly hidden burps, the three collectively stood and returned their trays. Minhyuk suddenly became absorbed in whatever was flashing on his phone screen, tapping wildly. “My place after class?” Kihyun said hopefully. He’d summoned his best puppy eyes to guilt trip his friends - but they weren’t even looking at him.

“I’d love to, Ki, but unless you want me staying over I’m gonna have to say no.” Hyungwon smiled apologetically. “I’m not gonna go outside tonight if I don’t have to.”

At that, Minhyuk snorted. “You never go outside past 7 as it is, dude. Don’t fake smile at our Kihyunnie.” That earned him a flick on the forehead.

“Hey, it’s fine. I understand.” Kihyun understood _perfectly_ , in fact, but did that make him feel any better? Not at all, considering he was becoming even lonelier the more time passed. He hated being alone with a burning passion, hated the way the air felt colder, hated the way the couch looked undented, empty, unused. Minhyuk and Hyungwon filled certain niches in his heart and home, in a way that no one else had. Sure, he could hit up Changkyun, but they weren’t as close - and with Changkyun came Jooheon, who was entirely too energetic for Kihyun’s current mood. “See you later, then.” The other two men shot smiles at Kihyun before wandering off with their bags slung over their shoulders, dragging their feet while grumbling about modeling or whatever. “Stay warm!” he called after them. Minhyuk gave a thumbs up towards him before smacking his own butt just to irk Kihyun. Odd, but not unexpected.

Now alone, Kihyun had no choice but to go to his final class of the day - a 3 hour lecture on the history of photography. It was as boring as it sounded, but every once in a while there was an interesting segment on a famous photographer to fill the void. Minhyuk said he must be a masochist to willingly sit through that torture, to which he begrudgingly agreed.

* * *

By the time the class had wrapped up, the sky had already melted into a muddy gray, clouds gathering into a shapeless mass faster than Kihyun could whip out his camera. Steeling himself against the gusts of cold wind, he started his trek off campus. At times like this, Kihyun truly regretted picking the apartment building he did, despite it being the cheapest and closest.

As the wind picked up, he broke into a jog. A few students were still milling about, though they huddled together in packs as they walked. Their loud laughter pierced Kihyun’s ears; they throbbed, eardrums shaking, head pulsing. Being forcibly subjected to others’ wanton happiness was a surefire way to irritate him (as pessimistic as that sounded).

15 minutes of light mist later, Kihyun was back in the confines of his apartment with cold feet and a red nose. The place looked more like a dungeon to die in than somewhere to live with the lights off and curtains firmly shut. “Home, sweet home,” he muttered. Yeah, _home_. If he were a different type of person, there’d be clothes strewn over the furniture and dishes piled high in the sink, but Kihyun was, admittedly, a clean freak. He cleaned on the weekends. He cleaned after he had Minhyuk and Hyungwon over, regardless of if they made a mess or not. He cleaned when he was bored - or stressed, or anxious, or -

A clap of thunder brought him out of his head and brought his eyes to the window in his puny living room. That single floor to ceiling window brought in a majority of the sunlight into his apartment - the rest was from the window in his bedroom that he couldn’t care less about. “Yeah, open the curtains, Kihyun,” he said aloud (yes, he talked to himself - more than he’d ever like to admit). “Go ahead and stare into that sexy, pitch black sky.” So he opened the curtain. And then he smacked himself. Minhyuk and his mannerisms were rubbing off on Kihyun, and it was only the _weird_ ones.

Rain had already begun to fall, tapping gently against the glass. Weather like this in December was a bit uncharacteristic, but global warming was rampant, so did it even matter? Kihyun opted to neglect his homework in favor of huddling on the couch with a mug of tea and a weighted blanket. It was the perfect night to turn on a good drama and just _melt_.

As the show droned on, the wind and rain started to pick up. Kihyun had already dozed off from the warmth of the tea in his stomach and the hefty blanket simulating a human’s presence. A few hours passed this way - howling wind, rhythmic drumming of the rain, Kihyun snoring lightly. His hands periodically twitched and stretched out, as if to grasp onto someone else, before balling back up slowly.

Kihyun woke up to a single beam of sunlight warming his eyelids. The gap in his curtains was just large enough for that sliver of light to sneak in, just large enough for him to see the way last night’s rain froze into glimmering pearls on his window. Finally, the storm was over, but the sunlight betrayed the truth of the conditions outside - everything was coated with a layer of ice, including the roads. A quiet yet insistent buzzing caught Kihyun’s attention.

“Hello?” he croaked. The voice on the other end was muted and Kihyun squinted at his phone for a long moment before realizing it was upside down and backwards. “Sorry, what? Hello? Can I help you?”

“YA, are you even awake? Class isn’t frickin’ cancelled. Get up before you’re late!” Minhyuk’s bubbly voice bled through the phone, through the remnants of Kihyun’s good night of sleep. “ _Come get hot chocolate with us_!” Hyungwon distantly chimed in, “ _We’ll be in the cafe_.”

Kihyun grunted his agreement and hung up before Minhyuk could start flapping his lips again. “Dear _god_...how is it only Tuesday?” he groaned. He made an effort to stretch for as long as he could before moving to do his morning routine, which was probably one of the last things he had that kept him from going insane. A good soap to cleanse away the nightmares, a good lotion to keep out the day’s annoyances.

Among other things, breakfast was a foreign concept to Kihyun, so he opted for a big bite of air before escaping his apartment, book bag in tow. Three steps into the outside world and he had already nearly fallen flat on his face - a terrific start, if you asked him.

While on his way to the campus cafe, Kihyun noticed a sheen on the roads; at first, he figured it was residue from last night’s rain, but after watching several cars skid, he realized it was black ice. At that moment he was very grateful he was too broke to afford a car.

Soon, Kihyun stopped at a crosswalk, feet half frozen - he was truly tempted to just cross anyway because the traffic was light, but a rather fancy black sports car caught his attention. It was headed in the same direction as him, but that’s not what caught his eye - no, it was the fact that the windows were tinted almost black to match the paint, and it was practically glowing in the weak sunlight. There wasn’t a _speck_ on it. The car rapidly approaching it from behind had also caught his eye. It wasn’t showing any sign of slowing down, but not because the driver had their foot glued to the pedal, and rather because it was literally free-gliding down the street, tires locked. Kihyun’s eyes flitted from that car, to the sports car, to the box truck turning across the intersection, before he realized what would happen.

The sliding car smashed into the rear-end of the sports car, which sent it careening into the intersection. It was almost as if the whole scene played out in slow motion, like an action shoot in a drama. Pedestrians stopped to stare and point. And then the front end was smashed in by the box truck, which had also turned out to be sliding out of control. Kihyun could hear the glass shattering, sending millions of glittering shards into the sky. It was over in the blink of an eye.

As smoke began to trickle out of the sports car, the world broke into a mess of car horns, gasps, yells for someone to call an ambulance. Kihyun couldn’t stay to gawk. The acrid smell of smoke had already reached him and he couldn’t bear to think about the driver, about how badly they might be injured, if they were even still... Kihyun ran. He ran past the scene, he ran despite the ice, he ran ignoring his complaining lungs. But he couldn’t run from the already forming images in his mind. By the time he arrived at the cafe, tears had already sprung in his eyes. There was no reason for him to be so invested in the accident, and yet…he _felt_ he should be.

He saw it all.


	2. Mirror

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little bit longer than it normally would've been since I feel bad about not updating for so long...kinda lost inspiration and got stuck in the details, but I've got energy to write again!

Bursting into a cafe with heaving lungs and tears in one’s eyes was, admittedly, a little weird. Nearly everyone inside had turned to stare at Kihyun as he collapsed into an empty seat near Minhyuk and Hyungwon. Even as he sat there trying to regain his composure, they stared. It was unnaturally quiet.

“ _ What the hell happened to you _ ?!” Hyungwon hissed, “ _ You look like you just got a death threat from Satan himself _ !” 

Kihyun slowly shook his head as he regained the ability to breathe properly. “It’s not -  _ wheeze  _ \- like that. I just - there was just - this car just got completely smashed in from both ends and there was glass everywhere and it was smoking and -”

“Hey, slow down, it’s ok,” Minhyuk interrupted, sensing the panic bubbling back up, “you’re safe now, just...try to calm down a bit.” He did his best to soothe his friend, rubbing his circles into his back and smoothing down his wind-blown hair. Hyungwon had wandered off only to come back with some chamomile tea for Kihyun. “Here, sip. We’ll be here.”

For what seemed like an eternity, Kihyun sat with his hands in a death grip around his mug. Even as the tea melted away the cold from his head to his toes, it couldn’t clear away the fog in his mind. It was just a stupid car accident...they happened all the time, right? Accidents happen. But what if no one else saw the accident at the same angle as him, and he saw something no one else did?

The others could tell that Kihyun was sinking into his mind again, too absorbed to function properly. “Here, how about this?” Minhyuk said abruptly, “How about we just skip class today! Relax, get your mind off that accident. Sound good?” 

Kihyun looked at his mischievous friend with eyes full of suspicion. “Really? Are you sure?” Usually, when Minhyuk was this enthusiastic, he had an evil plan to go along with it - but the twinkle in his eyes said otherwise. 

“C’mon, let’s go to my place,” Hyungwon gestured as he slowly stood, “I just bought some bomb bread. Tastes like doughy heaven.” At that Kihyun couldn’t help but laugh, albeit weakly. He hated to miss class, but right now, he doubted he’d be able to focus. 

“Alright, fine. That bread better be good or else!”

“Or else what, you’ll fight me?” Hyungwon drew himself up to his full height, clearly looking down on Kihyun. 

“No,” Kihyun said innocently, “I’ll just wait until you least expect it and I’ll take a really  _ ugly _ picture for blackmail.”

The two continued to bicker as they slowly left the cafe, Minhyuk occasionally jumping in to further goad Kihyun. If it wasn’t for their company, Kihyun would’ve noticed the ambulance rushing in the same direction as them and a news van in the opposite towards the wreck. Then again, if it wasn’t for their company, he’d probably still be at that crosswalk.

* * *

Unsurprisingly, it only took about 15 minutes for the three of them to demolish the loaf of bread Hyungwon had mentioned. It was laced with cinnamon, apple, and probably genuine love - “ _ That’s how we know he spent good money _ !” Minhyuk had loudly whispered to Kihyun.

Spending time with them was...good for Kihyun. It was good to get out of his head, to be somewhere other than school or home, to just be without having to really  _ be _ . He could let loose around them. After the feeding frenzy had died down, the trio migrated to Hyungwon’s (faux, of course) leather couch. 

“Check the weather, Wonnie,” Minhyuk begged, “I wanna know how long I’m gonna have to fear for my life every time I step outside.” The bewildered look Kihyun shot at him made the former practically cackle. “The  _ ice _ , Ki. I’m not being stalked, don’t worry.”

Instead of the weather flickering to life on the television, it was the news; it was about the accident. Of course. Did the anchors not have anything better to talk about? Stocks? Drama? Hot guys? 

“Holy  _ sh- _ ” Hyungwon had started to speak, but was stopped by Kihyun’s hand smothering his mouth.

“ _ The victim of this morning’s accident has been revealed as Bear Fitness’s CEO Son Hyunwoo. His car was struck from both ends by two cars who were both sliding out of control. Paramedics arrived on scene just before the vehicle caught fire. CEO Son is currently in the hospital in severe condition- _ ” The television screen abruptly flickered off. Kihyun had gone pale again. 

Minhyuk was the first to speak up. “Sorry, Kihyunnie. My fault for asking to turn it on…” His apology was waved away.

“No, it’s fine. I’m glad the guy is still alive, I really thought he - y’know.” The others nodded sympathetically. 

“Would you rather we just never bring this up again, or…?” 

God, what did he do to deserve them? “Nah. Now that I know I didn’t actually witness a death I feel mostly fine,” Kihyun reassured them, half-forcing a smile onto his face, “If anything, I kinda wanna stay updated now. I’m curious to see what’ll happen with the company…” 

He actually didn’t give a rat’s ass about the company - and his friends could tell. But, being good friends, they would play along until Kihyun changed his mind.

“So!” Kihyun said suddenly, “Did you guys sleep through that storm from hell or am I just apathetic on all planes of existence?”

“Yes.”

“Yes,  _ what _ , Min? Yes, you slept through it? Or yes, you’re an idiot?

“...Yes.”

Hyungwon intercepted before they could get into a fist fight (which wasn’t too uncommon). “I couldn’t sleep through it, it sounded like the end of the world. Like, that storm was freakier than Minhyuk, and that’s saying something.” He snickered as Minhyuk’s jaw dropped, clearly offended in some sort of way. “Anyways...I know we don’t get weather like that often but you would think people would know to drive carefully, right?”

“ _ Exactly _ !” Kihyun exclaimed, “Like, don’t tell me you didn’t notice the ice, the roads were literally  _ glittering _ . I’m pretty sure that truck driver was running the light.”

Their conversation went on for another hour and was full of nothing but complaining and criticizing the other drivers in the accident. Somehow, talking about it more made Kihyun feel better. 

So, when Kihyun found his apartment being invaded by Hyungwon and Minhyuk a few days later, he no longer felt like the panic would manifest if the accident was brought up again.

His two friends seemed to be arguing over who got to ‘break the news’ to him - of what, he had no clue, because they were squabbling in the kitchen (far too close to the knives for his comfort). 

“Alright, I win!” Minhyuk shouted, skipping and hopping into the living room to plop down next to Kihyun, filling in his beloved spot on the sofa. “Here’s the tea on CEO Son, you ready?”

Kihyun blinked, taken aback. He blinked again. And then he cleared his throat, and loosened his collar, and took a deep breath. “Of course! Of course.” He was still  _ embarrassingly  _ anxious. 

“ _ So _ . An article was put out this morning and it says that he’s mostly fine except for some bruises and cuts, but uh…” Minhyuk paused, seemingly nervous. Like he needed time to recollect himself to deliver terrible news to a weeping wife, long awaiting news of her noble husband. “Because of the way he got hit, the glass from the windshield literally blinded him. It was really a freak accident…”

_ Blinded _ ? “ _ God _ , that’s….” Kihyun was at a loss for words. It’s what, terrible, horrible, no good? “...that really sucks, does he even have anyone to help him out?”

“That’s the kicker,” Hyungwon interjected. He’d been so quiet that his presence was practically forgotten, sidling up to Kihyun on the sofa without so much as a sigh. “He’s, like, the most humble CEO I’ve ever heard of. No official chaperone, no army of maids and chefs for his crazy big penthouse…it’s just him. Why do you think he’s so famous and sought after? There’s no one to get in the way,” The lanky man added with a snort. He’d said his piece, added his fuel to the fire. Leave Minhyuk to fan the flames and Kihyun to inevitably put them out.

And, at that moment, Kihyun suddenly felt so much  _ concern _ for a man he only knew by word of mouth and fleeting digital images. He had a hard enough time taking care of himself as he was, able-bodied and all. He couldn’t even  _ begin _ to imagine what it must be like, suddenly being thrust into a life without seeing - everything is still relatively the same but is suddenly unfamiliar…

“I’ve already started hearing rumors about a guide being hired,” Minhyuk mused, “as in, someone to help him get around and adjust.”

That felt…  _ odd _ , to Kihyun. “Isn’t that what guide dogs are for? Therapists? Wouldn’t the goal be for him to get back to living autonomously as close as before?”

“He’s got a point. Why create dependency on someone else when there never was any in the first place?” As much as Hyungwon just wanted to sit back and enjoy the conversation, he was too invested now. 

“They say it was his personal request…maybe he’s lonely?” Once so eager to spill the news to Kihyun, the normally boisterous man was now silent, finally having run out of steam. Or, as the other two put it, brain cells. 

With no more input, the living room fell comfortably silent. Hyungwon had closed his eyes, finally melding with the couch. Peaceful. Minhyuk had pulled his phone out again, fingers flying and a smile creeping onto his face. Mellow. Kihyun? His mind and heart were racing far too fast to be at peace.

* * *

Even as the weeks flew by, the CEO never left Kihyun’s mind. Anyone less knowledgeable of his circumstances would think he’d caught feelings of some sort. It was a logical assumption; why else would your mind be so wholly occupied by someone, other than out of hate, or fear?

To him, it hardly mattered anymore. It was on his mind whether he wanted it or not. Going out to eat, going to class, meeting with friends - it was there. Later on, it turned out that it was there physically as well.

Minhyuk came up to Kihyun on campus one day  _ very  _ suspiciously hiding something behind his back; from the way he acted, one would think he had an entire cake in his hands. When he proudly shoved it in Kihyun’s face, he wasn’t sure if it was better or worse - it was a flyer. It was the same flyer he’d seen plastered all across town - 

“I think you should apply, Ki!” Minhyuk’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. “Even if you don’t really have any of the stuff they’re looking for. And if you don’t get the job, well, maybe you can be friends!”

His enthusiasm was hard not to love, but it was even harder to not take it seriously. “Alright, alright. But you know how unrealistic this is, right?”

Minhyuk shrugged as Kihyun took the flyer. “Is anything truly realistic? Even our expectations of ourselves are unrealistic. Just take a chance…” His voice unexpectedly changed, becoming soft in the midst of his philosophical tangent, “I know this has been bothering you, Kihyun. You’ve been really distracted since the accident, and a part of me feels like this might be a sort of redemption for you…”

_ Redemption? _ Kihyun thought,  _ Redemption for what? For witnessing an accident I had no control over? For my feelings of unfounded guilt?  _ He dialed the number.

The person on the other end of the line didn’t ask too many questions besides what Kihyun considered to be the bare minimum - who are you, what do you do, how did you hear about this. The man quietly gave Kihyun an address, which Minhyuk quickly scribbled down (of course, he was right by the phone, eager to help).

After he hung up, Kihyun let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding in. “Am I really doing this?” He wondered aloud. Distantly, he could hear his dear friend chuckle. 

With one last look at Minhyuk, Kihyun left, directions already pulled up on his phone. Instead of some nondescript high rise, the address was the  _ headquarters _ of Bear Fitness - in other words, the heart of the corporation, with the CEO’s home on the top floor. 10 minutes on the bus and he found himself in the lobby and suddenly  _ very _ nervous.

“I spoke with a Mr. Lee on the phone about the flyer -”

“Right this way,” the secretary interrupted. She was clearly disinterested, not even bothering to look at Kihyun. How many people had stood in his exact spot, wringing their hands and straightening their clothes? 

When they got into the elevator together, Kihyun missed what button the secretary had pressed, missed why she had punched in a code. As the number above the door steadily ticked upwards, his anxiety grew. Surely, they were just heading to an office, nothing special. 

“ _ Penthouse _ ,” the elevator chimed, doors sliding open to reveal a small hallway towards a plain silver door. Kihyun glanced at the woman whose eyes had finally met his, perplexed. “ _ Go on _ ,” her eyes said, “ _ get out already. _ ”

He stepped out of the elevator without a second glance and found himself, once again, feeling lost - now what? Before he could raise his arm to tentatively knock, the door swung open. “Mr. Yoo, come in. We’ve been expecting you.”

Honestly, Kihyun didn’t know what he expected, but it wasn’t this. Behind the front door to this ‘penthouse’ was a cozy office - absolutely massive, but cozy nonetheless. The only other person besides him and the one who had opened the door was a large man reclining on a small sofa. He sat off to the left, facing a wall of large floor to ceiling windows and doing nothing but seemingly absorbing the sunlight. 

“Please, sit. We will begin the interviewing process.” As Kihyun settled into a seat at the table in the middle of the room, he finally got a good look at the man who’d opened the door. Despite the professional tone of his voice and his (almost scarily) large physique, there was a playfulness to his eyes and the hint of a smile on his lips. “So, Mr. Yoo. I realize this is probably very sudden for you, but it is for us as well. Not many people have come with...serious intentions. Since you told me the basics over the phone, I’ll get to the point - what sort of experience do you have with assisting others?”

Other than helping Hyungwon and Minhyuk with their daily crises? Ah, he was  _ severely  _ under-qualified for this. "Well, ah, I often help my classmates with their cameras…since I also do some photoshoots for models I h-assist them in finding other modeling gigs…" 

That didn't seem to be the right answer, judging by the microscopic frown forming on Mr. Lee's face. "What about on a caretaker level? How are you with others?" 

Kihyun found himself wondering what his friends would say. "I’m often called the responsible friend of the group...since I’m always helping them out...I do a lot of cooking and cleaning, if that matters?” 

“Do you personally know anyone with any disabilities?”

“Ah, no, not really…”

Mr. Lee sighed as he sat back. “Mr. Yoo, I appreciate that you came by so quickly, but truthfully, you aren’t qualified for this and part of me wonders why you even came -”

“Hoseok, it’s ok.” For the first time, the man on the sofa spoke. Mr. Lee,  _ Hoseok _ , immediately quieted and looked down at his hands, freeing Kihyun of his gaze. “I’ve heard what I needed. You can go, Hoseok. I’ll call you later, yes?”

“Hyu- are you sure?”

The mystery man hummed his affirmation and, without a second thought, Hoseok stood and gave Kihyun a polite bow before leaving the penthouse/office. With his presence gone, Kihyun was now painfully aware of how big and empty the room was, and how intimidated he truly felt in that moment. 

“You know,” the man mused, slowly standing to walk towards Kihyun, “you’re actually the first man to apply for this position. It’s only been women up to this point.” As he turned to face Kihyun, there were two things he noticed - one, he was wearing sunglasses, indoors; two, he had a sheepish, toothy grin painted on his face. Kihyun thought he would sit at the table, but he walked right past him, walked to the other side of the room to sit on the edge of his desk to face...the other wall of floor to ceiling windows. “Come closer,” he murmured. Kihyun scrambled over and opted to sit on the other side of the desk; now practically back to back with the man whose name he  _ still _ wasn’t sure of, he finally felt a bit calmer.

“You might have guessed already, but, ah, I’m the CEO. But you can just refer to me as Hyunwoo!”

_ Oh _ . So that’s why he...yeah. Everything made sense now. Kihyun wanted to blurt out everything, how he’d seen the crash and how it’d been haunting him, but Hyunwoo continued talking. 

“The man earlier, Hoseok, he’s actually my therapist...and my best friend, heh. He may look intimidating, but once you get to know him, you’ll realize he’s a very kind and gentle person. He’s been working very hard to help me find a, ah,  _ guide _ .” Straight to the point, huh. Kihyun prayed the businessman wouldn’t harp on the skills he clearly lacked… “So tell me, what made you call and come in?”

“In all honesty,” he started, shifting uncomfortably, “I needed the money. The flyer looked promising, and I’m kind of broke because of college tuition…”

“I appreciate your honesty. I would rather tuition money be your motivation than spending money and some sort of fame, like most of the women that have applied.”

He suddenly felt compelled to defend himself, to explain. “I saw the accident. I was there. I… honestly I was  _ terrified _ for you, and I didn’t even know it was  _ you _ . I’ve been thinking about it since and my friends, they convinced me to call.”

Silence. Had he gone too far? Maybe he shouldn’t have been too eager to explain something that didn’t need explaining -

“Was it bad?” Hyunwoo asked quietly. “It’s all a blur, to me.”

“...Very.” 

Kihyun felt Hyunwoo sag a bit, suit rustling as if it were deflating. “Well, what’s happened has happened. You seem like a good person, Kihyun. I’d like to give you a chance. If…if you’re willing to accept, you could start this Friday?” Ha, he was being hired on the spot, but he was being asked rather than told? “Don’t worry, Hoseok will explain everything and help you with anything you need. I’ll have him call you later to give you more information before Friday.”

“Thank you so much, sir. I know I’m incredibly under-qualified for this position but I promise I’ll do my best to help you!” As he had stood up reflexively to bow to Hyunwoo, he caught sight of himself in the window. The Kihyun in his reflection wasn’t one he knew. He looked small, face void of the anxious frown he’d been sporting as of late. Was that hope he spotted? “I’ll leave, now.”

As Kihyun left in a hurry, he failed to catch the other man’s quiet words. 

“I should be the one thanking  _ you _ .”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, feel free to comment :)

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave feedback! If there's any tags you'd like me to add, please let me know.


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